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Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:10 pm
by gurusw
I learnt about many bad experiences in this forum regarding ICICI. I also read some complaints about SBI website & Citi exchange rate. Can u guys please share ur positive experiences so as to help new members choose the right bank for NRE acct?
Personally I am looking at banks in Mumbai suburbs, Goregaon, Borivali that will have Internet banking. ATM is desirable, but not reqd as long as I can go to bank to withdraw money. Thanks in advance.
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2007 6:29 am
by gurusw
No positive experiences, I guess :) We're all about complaining though.
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:23 pm
by hetal18
I have an NRE account in State Bank of India, Mumbai, Borivili(West) branch. I use their online services to transfer money and check my account. I am pretty satisfied with the way things are with SBI. However, I never had to deal with their customer service or anybody once the account was opened.
I personally opened the account when I was in India in 2005 and also got online access by personally visiting the bank.
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:08 pm
by fantoosh
u can try HSBC.... Borivali(West) Branch...
Its walking distance from Borivali station...
They have online banking...customer service is much better as compared to ICICI....
Also no long queues...
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:51 pm
by maeswaran
ICICI bank is good for dealing without going to bank. Most of the staff are either on probabation or under " temporaray"
Good for internet banking
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:02 pm
by kallu
I am thinking of opening an NRE/O account in axis bank ( previously uti ). Any good or bad things I should know about?
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:58 pm
by ILuvHyd
I used Citibank, ICICI and SBI.
ICICI - Poor support/bad exchange rate.
Citi - Average support/worse exchange rate.
SBI - I kept low expectations, so didn't event attempt to contact their support yet/Best exchange rate.
Overall SBI is my pick. With EFT service discontinued, I could no longer use (from 1Feb08) SBI money transfer service to transfer funds to ICICI within reasonable time period.
My tip on exchange rate: Use a credit card that doesn't charge any transaction fees where credit cards are accepted for no extra charge. I use Capital One Card - No International/Foreign exchange fee, 1% kind of rewards/cash back... Best exchange rate.
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:14 pm
by Indian.Sam
Can you tell me the exchange rate Capital one gave you for your transactions in India?
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:29 pm
by ILuvHyd
Indian.Sam;88145Can you tell me the exchange rate Capital one gave you for your transactions in India?[/quote]
DATE --- CAP ONE Rate --- Oanda Interbank Exchange rate
1/29/08 --- 39.26 --- 39.39
2/2/08 --- 39.13 --- 39.355
So the exchange rate is 0.4 to 0.6% compared to Interbank Exchange rate
ICICI is typically 1 - 1.2% and Citi is notorious with around 2% difference.
On top of this 1% rewards and no foreign transaction fees...
Which bank to choose for NRE acct?
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:46 pm
by ioimparo
IluvHyd,
Your posts are very insightful and very helpful. I already have a NRE account woth Citi, but I do not use them to transfer funds.
Actually its been a long time since I have transferred funds. Do you think I can use another service such as timesofmoney.com to transfer funds into my NRE account. This way I can get a better rate.
My question is if this is possible?
Thanks in advance